The World Is Flat And The Air is Refreshingly Clean

Mama gnome woke up with a start and sat bolt upright.

She dreamt she'd fallen off the edge of planet Earth.

In her dream whilst she was freefalling through open space, Mama gnome was surprised to find the air off the edge of the planet was actually super darn nifty clean.

"Now how about that?" Mama gnome muttered while she rubbed her eyes and placed her pointy hat on her head.

She got up, slipped on her dragon slippers and trudged to the kitchen to drink a cup of her morning elixir so vital for existence.

Mama gnome drank from her mug and perused the news for green issues, a daily ritual for Mama gnome.

She spluttered and coughed when she read this post by Brad Johnson.

Mama gnome's dream wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.

And her nightmare had come true.

Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, is cosponsoring legislation introduced by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to block the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

And these Senators are not alone.

"Three Democrats (Landrieu, Lincoln, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska) joined every Republican except for Collins & Snowe of Maine, DeMint (SC), and Ensign (NV) in co-sponsoring the resolution, which would overturn the Supreme Court-mandated and science-based endangerment finding for greenhouse gases."

video from: progressivemediavid


Planet earth must be deflated flat for there is no other logical explanation why these people would oppose the United States Clean Air Act and propose Senate Joint Resolution 26, also called the "Dirty Air Act" by environmentalists.

And as Mama gnome likes to call it the Dirty Trick Act and off blog she would like to call it... something else.

Mama gnome urges you to oppose the Dirty Air Act.

What are the repercussions if the Clean Air Act was effectively opposed by legislation?

Well the world might as well be flat for it seems our logic and reasoning has gone backwards.

For all US greenhouse emitting monstrous corporations that burn oil, burn coal, burn fossil fuels and burn whatever else that emits greenhouse, global warming, air polluting-rooting-tooting-burn-your-lungs stuff...these companies would just have a giant party at our expense for they can just kiss emission capping, greenhouse regulation stuff goodbye.

Goodbye Clean Air.

Hello Dirty Air.

Please contact your senators and tell them you oppose Senate Joint Resolution 26, aka Dirty Air Act.

We don't have barriers limiting air to the United States, air to France, air to China.

Air permeates all over planet Earth.

Help stop the Dirty Air Act.

Help planet Earth keep whatever clean air she has left, whatever decency she has left.

Tell your Senators, "Wake up! Planet Earth is not flat!" and Go Green!

(c) 2009-2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

With heavy heart, Mama gnome presents the Mystery Animal of the Day, for it is considered the most endangered of all the largest mammals in the world.

The IUCN lists this animal as critically endangered with "less than 50 mature individuals" in the wild.

None exists in a zoo. This animal does not fare well in captivity.

Poachers are the main culprit because this animal's horn and other body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine even though it is illegal.

If you guessed the Mystery Animal is the Javan Rhinoceros, Mama gnome wants to shake your hand and she urges you to educate your friends and family about the terrible fate this animal faces because of poachers and people who illegally buy and sell them for "medicinal purposes."

Here is a rare picture of a Javan Rhinoceros in the wild taken by Alain Compost in 1980.


photo by Alain Compost from rhinoresourcecenter.com


The Javan Rhinos live in "protected" areas in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam.

Mama gnome placed the word protected in quotes because Javan rhinos continue to be threatened by poachers in these areas. They are also vulnerable to diseases and problems with inbreeding because of their low numbers.

The Javan rhino has a single horn. This animal is smaller than the Indian Rhinoceros. The Javan rhino's hide is gray, thick and has folds, giving it the appearance of armor. Rhinos have poor eyesight but they have very keen hearing and sense of smell.

The Javan Rhino is a herbivore and feeds on fallen fruit, shoots and twigs. It is usually a solitary animal except for mothers with their calves and during breeding.

They estimate only five to ten Javan Rhinos are in Vietnam and these individuals have stopped reproducing many years ago.

Mama gnome was quite fascinated to learn, there once were Wooly Rhinos, just like there were Wooly Mammoths.

Here is an illustration of the extinct Wooly Rhinoceros.

photo from: Charles R. Knight, H. Osborn, 'Men of the Old Stone Age'

Wooly rhinos are gone and Javan rhinos may soon disappear.

And this time man is directly responsible for this.

Please help save the Javan Rhinos and prevent them from becoming extinct.

What can we possibly do to help?

Educate other people about this animal and the terrible effects poaching has inflicted on their entire population.

Visit WWF and the International Rhino Foundation.

Report businesses and people who trade on Javan Rhino horns and body parts. It is illegal. It has been illegal since 1975.

Here is a rare video of Javan Rhinos in Ujong Kulon National Park taken by remote-sensing camera:


video by: DiscoveryNetworks


These animals are on the brink of extinction. Please help the Javan Rhinos and all the other rhinos who suffer the same fate.

Just like a rhino, Mama gnome has poor eyesight. But she has a keen nose and multiple folds in her skin. She will use her armor like folds and pointy hat to ward off poachers.

Become part of Mama gnome's rhino protecting team and Go Green.

(c) 2009-2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Paper...Rock....Scissors....Trees!

Mama gnome asked Daddy gnome, "Are those young gnomelets or monkeys?" for the two gnomelets were climbing over him like young arboreal animals and not two gnomelets who lived in a burrow.

"I think they're wild animals," said Daddy gnome while he wrestled with the gnomelets.

"Alright, let's settle down now. Come here and let's play another game," said Mama gnome. "How about a game of paper, rock, scissors?"

"Alright, Mama. How do we play?" asked baby gnomelet.

"Rock beats scissors because scissors can't cut rock. Paper beats rock because it can cover the rock. Scissors beat paper because it can cut paper."

So the young gnomelets learned to play this game while Daddy gnome got up to drink some of Mama gnome's elixir of life (so vital for existence). The young gnomelets zapped all his energy.

But now Mama gnome wants to talk to you about a different sort of game.

Mama gnome calls this game, "Paper...Rock...Scissors...Trees."

For in this game, paper beats both the rock and scissors and trees win.

This paper is special for it is made from recycled paper. And if it's super special the paper is made with a high percentage of post consumer content.

This means only a small percentage of the paper comes from virgin fiber from trees.

If humans all over the world used recycled paper and paper products and less from virgin fiber paper, more trees will be saved.

According to the National Resources Defense Council:

If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

Mama gnome almost fainted when she read that.

That's five hundred forty-four thousand...trees.

Not weeds, not bushes, not dandelions, but real living, breathing trees.

Please watch this video "Unchopping a Tree" by Maya Lin

video from: unchopatree

Here's a list of special paper products from the Natural Resources Defense Council website.

Please visit their site to see an entire Shoppers Guide for paper products with recycled paper and quite a few made with high content from postconsumer waste.

Please know that Mama gnome's blog is a non-profit blog.

She does not receive or take advertisements and does not receive any sort of money or profit through this blog.

This blog is entirely because Mama gnome's fervent love for trees, nature and planet Earth and she does not want to make any profit from planet Earth's problems.

So the link for NRDC's list above is truly to arm you with that special paper you will need to win Mama gnome's special game of paper-rock-scissors.

And if you pick the best paper with recycled paper made from high content of postconsumer waste then game on...

Paper...rock...scissors...Trees!

Please be a winner for planet Earth...

For this new year, be the best darn paper rock scissors player on this planet.

Let go of your virgin fiber paper products...go for Super Paper instead and Go Green.

(c) 2009-2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

"Winter Wonder...huh?"

Mama gnome rubbed her hands together and pulled her pointy hat down to cover her ears.

'Tis another blustery evening here at the Arctic thought Mama gnome.

She worried she might have to trek over five miles to find the last remaining edible shrubs.

Mama gnome donned on her boots, thick coat and a ten foot long scarf.

She gripped the doorknob and yanked the door open prepared for the worst Arctic wind blast.

"Here we go...here we go out to a wonderful winter wonder....huh?"

Wonder...land?

It was land, barren earth, more like it.

For the snow was gone, the ice melted.

The Arctic sea ice was gone.

Mama gnome described a scenario which may not be far fetched.

According to this post, on December 14,2009 former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Danish ice scientist Dorthe Dahl Jensen presented a startling prediction about the future of the Arctic Sea Ice.

"New computer modeling suggests the Arctic Ocean may be nearly ice-free in the summertime as early as 2014."

2014...that's five earth years from now, thought Mama gnome.

Young gnomelets will still be young gnomelets, yet the Arctic Sea Ice in the summer of 2014 will be virtually gone.

What would happen to all the arctic animals who rely on the presence of ice to hunt for food and for their survival?

Mama gnome wished it would be just as easy for them to dine at a fancy restaurant like these polar bears in the video.


video from: MiracleEntertainment

Mama gnome thought humor would be appropriate otherwise she would be pulling her hair out.

But it is not a laughing matter...global warming.

Did you find Mama gnome's poem for global warming funny? Exactly.

What will we have have without polar ice caps and Arctic sea ice?

When ice melts you get water.

That would be tons of water.

Oceans of rising sea levels.

Mama gnome doesn't want to go there...

Please keep up our winter spirits, help fight global warming and Go Green.

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog